Bio
Nimra is a painter, community-engaged arts facilitator, and nature artist based in Cambridge, Ontario on the traditional territories of the Attawandaron, Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples.
She comes from a lineage of women who crafted with what they had, appreciated and grew plants, and valued the lives and stories of materials. She was born and raised in Karachi, and has lived in Italy, England, and Canada over the past decade.
She is interested in the intersections of making, storytelling and well-being through creating art with foraged and found materials. She co-leads Reth aur Reghistan, a multidisciplinary arts project exploring Sindhi folklore, poetry, and sustainable artmaking (sculpturalstorytelling.com).
Nimra has facilitated community-engaged art workshops with folks of all ages and abilities in Canada and England. She believe that artmaking is a collaborative process that everyone should have access to.
Mentors & Artists That Inspire My Arts Practice
- Sheniz Janmohammad – Mentorship, 2022-23
- Sharada Eswar & Ruth Howard (Jumblies Theatre + Arts) – Mentorship, 2023; The Art of Community, Feb 2021
- Tilke Elkins (Wild Pigment Project) – Being with Pigment Course, Nov 2022
- Flora Bowley – Creative Revolution e-course, May-July 2020
2023 – The Guelph Community Foundation’s Musagetes Art Fund for Barkat, in collaboration with the BIPOC Outdoor Gear Library
2022-2023 – Ontario Arts Council Skills and Career Development Grant
2022-2023 – Ontario Arts Council Recommender Grant for Reth Aur Reghistan
2022-2023 – Canada Council for the Arts Explore and Create: Concept to Realisation Grant for Reth Aur Reghistan
2022 – Mississauga Arts Council Matchmaker MicroGrant for Reth Aur Reghistan
2021 – HELD Magazine’s cover art contest winner for Kahaaniyaan
2019 – Canada Council for the Arts Explore and Create: Research and Creation Grant for Reth Aur Reghistan
2018 – Paul Yuzyk Multicultural Grant for Youth $500 for The Shadow on the Pavement children’s book
2018 – Paul Yuzyk Multicultural Grant for Youth $500 for Disability Mural Project
2023 – Workshop with Guelph Outdoor School, Guelph
- Workshops with Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener
- Art Drop-in at Bollywood Monster Mashup Festival, Mississauga
- Workshops with Otherwise Studios, Guelph
2020 – 2022 – Monsterarts For Seniors & Monsterarts for Youth, Mississauga
2022 – Frontline Network + Creative Studio with Justlife Foundation, Brighton
2022 – Gather Collective Garden, Eastbourne
2021 – Workshop series with Indus Community Services, virtual
2020 – Workshop series with Reth aur Reghistan, virtual
2020 – Workshop with Dastaangoi, virtual
2018-2019 – Workshop series with Creators Club, Oakwood Academy, Mississauga
2017 – Workshop series with DEEN Support Services
2024 – “Reth aur Reghistan”, solo exhibition, Silence Guelph, Guelph (forthcoming)
2023 – “Women Wide Awake”, group exhibition and book launch, Agha Khan Museum, Toronto (forthcoming)
- “Mannat Tree”, sculpture exhibit at Gerrard India Bazaar Festival, Toronto
- “Mannat”, solo exhibition and artist residency, Jumblies Theatre + Arts, Toronto
- “Jannat”, group exhibition at Gaukel Block, City of Kitchener, Kitchener
- “Kinesis”, solo exhibition, Minds Eye Studio Gallery, Kitchener
2021 – “Miniature Worlds”, digital exhibition, Rungh Culture Society Artist Run Centre, Vancouver
2020 – “Mokhi” and “Sohni”, digital performance, Emergents I Re:roots, Toronto
2020 – “Mountains and Pine”, mural, Oakwood Academy, Mississauga
2018 – “Disability Awareness”, mural, Central Library, Mississauga
2017 – Group exhibition, Anticafe, Montreal
2023 – “Women Wide Awake: Stories and Sculptures from Sindhi Folklore” – Reth aur Reghistan book publication with Mawenzi House Publisher
- Reth aur Reghistan Podcast Interview, Small Machine Talks
- “Featured Artist”, Otherwise Studios
- “kinesis Artists Interview”, Culture Fancier
2022 – “encounter” – Reth aur Reghistan chapbook publication with Rahila’s Ghost Press
- “Embrace” (oil on canvas), Living Hyphen Issue 2, Vol 2: Healing Across Generations
2021 – “Yaadein” (poetry reading), Living Hyphen podcast, Homesick
- Artist Interview, Where My Girls At? Writings on Contemporary Feminist Art (anthology)
- “Artist Spotlight”, Juicedroplet | Interview with Reth aur Reghistan, The Juice Box (podcast)
2020 – “Churail” (watercolour on paper), Meetinghouse Productions Paranormal Caught on Camera (film series)
- “Churail” (watercolour on paper/ cover image), VICE Canada
2019 – “Proliferate” (pen on paper / cover) and portfolio, KROS magazine, Issue 2
- “Ascent” (pen on paper), Nuance magazine, “Adrift” (watercolour on paper), Nuance magazine
2018 – “Bharatanatyam Dancer I” (watercolour on paper / cover) and portfolio untethered, Vol. 4.1
- Portfolio in Living Hyphen, Issue I
2021 – present – Board Member – Jumblies Theatre + Art, Toronto
2016 – 2018 – Board Member – The Yellow Door, Montreal